The present invention relates to a manually-refillable water reservoir assembly capable of being retrofit to a post-mix beverage dispenser which is normally plumbed to a commercial water supply. More specifically, the present invention relates to a manually-refillable water reservoir assembly for connection in line to a pressure pump of the water supply system associated with the carbonator of a conventional post-mix beverage dispenser.
Post-mix beverage dispensers designed for use with city water supplies generally have pressure pumps for delivering water to the carbonator thereof from the commercial water supply. These dispensers have predetermined water pressures and flow rates which are desirable for proper operation of the system and the provision of a pressure pump assures the supply of water to the dispenser at these proper flow rates and pressures. An example of such a post-mix beverage dispenser is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,080 to Farber, et al., assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. In the Farber dispenser, the preferred water pressure flowing to the pump thereof to prevent cavitation is 1 bar gauge, and the preferred water flow rate to the carbonator achieved by the turbine-type pump therein is 1.3 liters per minute.
In order to successfully retrofit a manually-refillable water reservoir assembly to the water inlet fitting of the Farber dispenser, or other forms of dispensers generally designed for use with a commercial water supply, it would be desirable to utilize the existing water supply systems and carbonators of those dispensers without any changes thereto. That is, it would be desirable to connect the output of a manually-refillable water reservoir assembly directly to the inlet of the dispenser which is normally coupled to a commercial water supply. However, in order to do this, the water supply from the manually-refillable water reservoir assembly must be supplied at water pressures and flow rates which are compatible with the water pressure and flow rates required by the pump within the dispenser.
To achieve compatible flow rates and pressures, it is necessary to supply water from the manually-refillable water reservoir through a pump which is electrically connected in parallel and fluidly in series with the pump provided in the main dispenser housing. However, the connection of plural pumps in series fluidly can pose problems in operation of the respective pumps, unless each pump has compatible flow rates and performance. It would be desirable to achieve compatible operation with respect to flow rates and pressure in the respective pumps without the need for sophisticated control systems associated with the pumps.